Firstly, the election in Macclesfield is a two-horse race between Labour’s delivery on health and the Conservative failures and promised cuts. What I am sure no one wants to hear is the Conservatives continually rubbishing Britain and the hard-working staff of the NHS.

Certainly, I am proud of what this Labour Government has done for the people of Macclesfield.

We have seen a massive investment in health now threatened by Conservative cuts, that will amount to £70 million in this constituency alone.

Compare this with Labour’s increased spending on the NHS, doubling it since 1997 and we will treble NHS spending by 2008.

Between 1997 and March 2004 we have seen 78,700 more nurses and more than 27,400 more doctors working in the NHS.

The Cheshire and Merseyside Strategic Health Authority, has seen the number of nurses increased by 5,141 and the number of doctors by 976. The number of NHS consultants in this area rose by 367 in the same period.

Under Labour maximum waiting times will have fallen from 18 months to 18 weeks. That’s your tax pound spent on health services and not used to fund tax cuts for the rich.

The Conservatives plan to raid the NHS budget to fund private health insurance for the wealthy.

They want to remove your money from the health service to ensure that those who can afford private health care will get it faster and cheaper than you. I am not alone in finding this policy repugnant.

Education

In 1997 Labour inherited from the Tories run down buildings and outside loos in our Cheshire primary schools. Massive investment has seen spending per pupil double to nearly £5,500 pa.

There are now more teachers in schools than at any point in the last 20 years — around 28,000 more than in 1997. That’s 220 more teachers helping your children in the Cheshire Local Education Authority.

Under the Conservatives 50 per cent of children left primary schools unable to read and write.

Now the Literacy and Numeracy Strategies have dramatically improved the quality of teaching and raised standards across the board; and schools in the most deprived areas have seen the greatest improvement in performance.

Our secondary schools are better too: around 50 per cent of 15-year-old pupils now achieve five or more good GCSEs. In Cheshire it is even higher.

Don’t let the Conservatives rubbish the success of your children by saying it’s all easier now.

Transport

Conservative privatisation of bus services and rail services have seen profits put before safety. Macclesfield rural bus services have been decimated by Sir Nick Winterton’s Conservatives.

We now have the nonsense of brand new bus shelters and hardly any buses stopping at them thanks to the policies of the Conservative County Council.

Law and Order

ANYONE running down this great nation by stating that crime has risen is a liar. The independent British crime survey states that crime under the Labour government has fallen by 30 per cent, burglary is down 40pc, car crime is down 42pc and violent crime is down 26pc since 1997.

Remember that crime doubled under the Conservatives. That’s right, it doubled. There were 5.5million less victims of crime in 2003-4 than in the last full year of the last Conservative government.

Michael Howard has promised police increases before. For every day he was Home Secretary we had one less police officer. Since Tony Blair has been PM, we have seen the police grow by 13,000 officers and 4,600 community support officers. That’s an increase of six police officers per day for every day he’s been in power.

Meanwhile the Liberal Democrats, a clear wasted vote in Macclesfield, voted against every single piece of anti-crime legislation over the last eight years including warden schemes. Their main law and order policy is to allow prisoners the right to vote while in jail. I mean come on. That’s why the Liberals are always a poor third in Macclesfield.

Immigration

Michael Howard says it is not racist to talk about restrictions on immigration. That’s true. It is however sickening to put lies and fear at the centre of an election campaign. But when you are weak on the economy, weak on crime and disorder, weak on helping pensioners, weak on helping families, then the race card is all they have left.

Labour has introduced the toughest asylum laws and immigration laws in Europe. Our policy will be to ensure that fairness is the centre of immigration and asylum. To accept the genuine refugee is a noble tradition in this great nation.

However, we will introduce tougher border controls and will ensure failed applications result in speedy deportation. What we won’t do is place xenophobia at the heart of our election campaign.

International Affairs

I have made it clear over the last two years that if I had been elected in 2001, I would not have voted for a war in Iraq. I know that Sir Nick Winterton along with many Labour MPs supported the war and I respect their decision.

Now some will say that I am trying to gain votes lost by the actions of my party. I am not. I am proud to be Labour and I am pleased to see the reconstruction of Iraq and the end to the rule of Saddam Hussein.

If people vote against me over the war then so be it. They will be exercising the very same democratic process that the people of Iraq are now enjoying.

The Economy

ARE YOU really going to put our economic success at risk and return the Conservatives to power?

Under Labour we have delivered the lowest interest rates in 40 years saving the average family nearly £4,000 per year, under Labour unemployment has fallen by two million in Britain and 63 per cent in Macclesfield, and under Labour inflation is the lowest in 30 years.

Living standards have risen by 2.5pc per year since 1997 and the average family with children is £1,400 better off under our tax regime. Yes we have taxed and that tax has been spent on the massive improvements to health, education and cutting crime.

In comparison the Tories pledge to cut tax, increase spending and cut borrowing. How does that work? The Times called this nonsense “Alice in Wonderland economics”. Are you really going to believe the Conservatives on tax again? They said in 1992 no rises in tax and then increased tax 22 times including the biggest single tax increase in the history of this nation. They invented the fuel escalator that kept petrol prices rising. Don’t be hit by Tory broken promises and fairy tale economics again.

The Liberal Democrats tax agenda for our council is as appalling as their support for the sale of our tenant’s homes. Under the Liberals’ axe-the-tax scheme a two-income family earning a total of £50,000 will pay £352 more in council tax, a two-income family earning a total of £60,000 would pay £429 more in council tax. A council income tax is the same as the poll tax.

Pensions

There is no doubt that pensioners are a lot better off under Labour. The poorest third of pensioners are £2,000 better off now than they were under the Tories.

Recently, Gordon Brown relieved the pensioners of Macclesfield of the burden of the high tax low spend Tory council by giving over 65s a council tax rebate of £200. We are acting to eradicate pensioner poverty in the borough.

The pension credit is now at £109 per week, a marked increase on the £69 the Tories last offered. State pensions have increased by nearly £10 under Labour along with other benefits; free eye tests, free TV licences for over 75s, the original £200 winter fuel allowance now worth £300 per year. Sir Nick Winterton opposed all these pensioner gains and wants them scrapped.

Europe

Four million British jobs are directly dependent on our membership of the EU and it also allows us access to a market of 400 million people. That is good for business and good for local people.

I would not put the well being of hard-working Macclesfield families at risk to satisfy tabloid politics. Remember that the Liberals are a wasted vote in this constituency always coming a poor third.

Environment

As a long time “green” I support reductions to emissions that affect global warming and better waste management programmes. Labour also calls for better recycling of waste in Cheshire, which has the worst record for waste per head of population than in any other part of the country.

Labour’s 2005 Clean Neighbourhoods Act also gives greater powers to deal with litter and graffiti. The Labour proposal for exchanging fines to companies who pollute into charges for environmental remediation is a worthy manifesto claim. I remain chair of the pro-cycling panel on the council.

Cath O'Brien (Lib Dem)

Health

WE ALL know that health is a number one campaigning topic.

It always is. In this election campaign Labour and the Conservatives are squabbling over false choice – when what we should be focusing on is the provision of local, quality services.

For the Liberal Democrats it is vital when looking at health to seek preventative measures – which is why we want to re-introduce measures such as free eye and dental checks and conduct a review of prescription charges to ensure people are able to afford the medicine they need.

We are determined to tackle the hidden waiting lists to get a diagnosis – to get appropriate treatment quickly and help people back to good health.

We also want to give those towards the end of their lives the dignity they deserve by providing free personal care when people most need it, for as long as they need it.

Education

Education is another top election priority and is the key to so many of the opportunities that our society offers. It is the best investment that our generation can make on behalf of the next.

Liberal Democrats want to give children a flying start in life by reducing class sizes in infant and junior schools, investing in 21,000 more teachers and reducing the number of tests to give teachers more time and freedom to teach.

We believe that the Labour Government has ignored the plight of our colleges and are committed to eliminating the disparity in funding between colleges and schools offering the same courses and, so that no-one is deterred from going to university by the fear of debt, we would scrap tuition fees.

Transport

When we look to transport we see our public transport system is suffering from years of under investment and over regulation.

Labour understand the problems but have done nothing to tackle them, the Conservatives would concrete over our green spaces with more roads.

We believe in an effective public transport network, with taxes that encourage the use of less polluting cars and free off-peak bus travel for all pensioners and disabled people.

We will cut bureaucracy in our railways, improve accountability and deliver better services.

We also believe that the environment and green issues should be a key priority for Government – Liberal Democrats would push for faster action on climate change, cutting traffic congestion and giving proper support to alternative fuels.

We want to achieve real reductions in energy use by making a much stronger case for the money everyone can save.

Charles Kennedy has demonstrated our commitment to the environment as the only leader travelling across the country to campaign in an environmentally-friendly aircraft.

It is the Liberal Democrats who are setting out real solutions to real problems – Liberal Democrats are the real alternative.

Law and Order

CRIME causes real misery for the victims and no set of statistics can measure the human cost of crime. That’s why the Liberal Democrats have set out a package based on visible policing. By getting rid of Labour’s expensive and ineffective ID card scheme, we could pay for 10,000 more police than Labour is planning and give the police the technology to spend more time on the street and less time tied to the desk.

Despite talking tough, both the Conservatives and Labour have failed to deliver – Labour’s plan for ID cards ignore the fact that in other countries they don’t work.

Conservative discredited plans for ‘honesty in sentencing’ would actually mean a cut in prison sentences.

Immigration and Asylum

On asylum and immigration Liberal Democrats are committed to removing party politics from life-or-death human rights decisions on asylum. We must distinguish clearly between asylum – a human rights issue – and migration – a social, economic and political issue.

We would establish an Independent Asylum Agency to consider claims lawfully, competently and impartially and allow asylum seekers to work two months after their application date to support themselves.

Let’s not muddle up asylum with immigration. It’s different.

Liberal Democrats would deal with the facts on immigration and commission an independent economic assessment of the level of need for migrant workers with quotas based on the views of experts in industry and commerce.

Liberal Democrats will not pander to fear and prejudice – we offer fair and effective policies to deal with crime, punishment and rehabilitation and over the distinct issues of asylum and immigration and crime and punishment.

International Affairs and Defence

Since Blair and Bush took us to war with Saddam Hussein, Iraq has been the issue in international affairs.

Of the three main parties, only the Liberal Democrats were strongly opposed going to war in Iraq from the start. The Iraq Survey Group has proved Saddam did not have weapons of mass destruction and that the policy of containment was working. At the time of the vote the Conservative leadership were in favour – now they oppose it.

We now have a moral obligation to the Iraqi people and must produce an exit strategy, including a plan for the phased withdrawal of UK troops by the end of the year.

It is hard to discern from the few hundred words that the Conservatives have devoted to foreign affairs precisely what their policy would be.

The Liberal Democrats want reform of the UN and the EU to be more efficient and accountable and we must increase the focus on aid, debt relief and trade.

We are also concerned that British troops are overstretched – funding should be cut from unnecessary programmes such as the third stage of the Eurofighter programme to invest more in ensuring that the armed forces are well trained and well equipped.

The Economy

Liberal Democrats have always been open and honest about how we will pay for our policies.

Three of our key policies are about creating a fairer distribution of the costs of public service – scrapping tuition and top up fees; introducing free personal care; keeping down the rate of local taxes. These three items add up to £4.3 billion and we will pay for them by one tax change, introducing a new 50 per cent rate on very high individual income in so far as it exceeds £100,000 a year.

The Conservatives claim they could increase spending on health, education, policing, international development and defence, cut taxes and correct the budget deficit, simply by removing waste in the public sector. People don’t believe them, and rightly so. You can’t get something for nothing. The Liberal Democrats believe that if we want a fairer Britain, it means fairer taxation. And it means spending government money differently.

Pensions

With the proportion of older people in society growing, only the Liberal Democrats have policies that will ensure dignity and security in retirement for all, and be sustainable over the long term.

We will ensure that the basic state pension is increased by more than £100 a month for single pensioners and by £140 a month for couples at 75 and introduce free personal care, as we have done in Scotland, for those who need it, for as long as they need it, so that people are no longer forced to use up their savings to pay. In addition we will replace the council tax, which places a huge and unfair burden on pensioners, with a fairer system of local income tax.

Europe

The EU has a fundamental role in guaranteeing peace and freedom in Europe. By promoting enterprise, protecting the environment, supporting global development and fighting discrimination, the EU brings enormous benefits to Britain.

We believe that the EU must have the powers and resources to act effectively in areas where problems cannot be solved at a national or regional level, while keeping out of areas where policy can be successfully managed at these levels.

We will continue to press for a Europe that is diverse, democratic and decentralised. However we are committed to reforming the European Union – to define and limit the powers of the EU ensuring that decisions are made at the most appropriate level and to improve the quality of EU governance and to make all EU institutions conform to the principles of freedom of information.

Environment

We believe that the environment and green issues should be a key priority for Government – Liberal Democrats would push for faster action on climate change, cutting traffic congestion and giving proper support to alternative fuels.

We want to achieve real reductions in energy use by making a much stronger case for the money everyone can save.

Charles Kennedy has demonstrated our commitment to the environment as the only leader travelling across the country to campaign in an environmentally-friendly aircraft. It is the Liberal Democrats who are setting out real solutions to real problems – Liberal Democrats are the real alternative.

Nicholas Winterton (Con)

Health

I strongly believe that NHS professionals, not politicians, should run hospitals.

The next Conservative government will get our hospitals clean, get money through to front-line services and give patients the right to choose where and when they get their treatment – which will shorten NHS waiting lists.

A Conservative government will invest an additional £34 billion by the end of the first parliament over the level inherited from Labour.

We will give patients a choice of treatment at any NHS hospital which can perform their operation, as well as any private hospital that can provide care at NHS costs.

If an independent hospital charges more for an operation than the NHS, patients will be entitled to 50 per cent of the NHS cost as a contribution towards their bill.

I also believe that teachers, not politicians, should run our schools.

A Conservative government will cut teachers’ paperwork, restore discipline in schools and give parents the right to choose the best school for their child.

We will give headteachers control over discipline in their schools, including over admission and expulsions.

Parents will be able to apply to any state-funded school – local councils will no longer decide admissions. Parents will be able to send their child to any independent school that offers a good education for the cost of a state-funded school – with no fees.

We will abolish restrictions that stop good schools expanding and new schools opening.

Finally, we will scrap student fees and reform the student loan system, boosting student and university finances.

Transport

The next Conservative government will give people more choice over travel and stop the war on motorists.

We will make more use of private funding to pay for new roads.

A Conservative administration will give control over speed cameras to local police, ensuring that cameras are only installed to improve safety and not to raise revenue.

We will award longer franchises to successful train operators, giving them the stability essential for investment and expansion.

Finally, we will modernise UK railway stations for the twenty-first century, in partnership with the private sector.

Law and Order

PEOPLE have a clear choice at the General Election on May 5: a Conservative Government that will introduce tougher sentences and put more police on our streets and into our rural communities, or more lenient sentences and more talk under Labour and the Liberal Democrats.

I personally believe our society needs more respect, discipline and civility. A Conservative Government will cut political correctness and police paperwork and put more police on the beat. A Conservative Home Secretary will recruit 5,000 extra police officers every year – meaning 641 more police officers in the Cheshire Constabulary by 2013.

We will end Labour’s prisoner early release scheme. We will embark on a prisons-building programme. And we will introduce elected police commisioners.

Immigration and Asylum

The electorate has another clear choice on May 5: controlled and limited immigration with a Conservative Government, or unlimited immigration under Labour and the Liberal Democrats.

I believe we need a fair immigration and asylum system that helps genuine refugees and gives priority to those who want to work hard and make a positive contribution.

A Conservative Government will set an annual maximum limit of the number who can settle in the UK, including a quota for asylum-seekers. Britain will take her fair share of the world’s genuine refugees. We have a moral obligation to help those fleeing persecution.

A Conservative administration will introduce an Australian-style points system for work permits – giving priority to people with the skills this country needs. And we will put in place 24-hour security – a new border police force – at all ports of entry to prevent illegal immigration.

International Affairs and Defence

People face a clear choice: a secure United Kingdom with a Conservative Government, or our armed forces weakened under Labour and the Liberal Democrats. I believe we should support our armed forces and that foreign policy should serve our national interest. If a Conservative Prime Minister has to take the country to war, we will tell the British people the truth and plan properly to secure the peace.

By spending £2.7billion more on the front-line, we will keep the regiments and three of the warships Labour would scrap.

Finally, a Conservative Government will work towards the UN’s target for spending, 0.7 per cent of gross national income on overseas aid by 2013 and play its part in debt-relief for the poorest countries.

The Economy

THE CONSERVATIVE party believes in rewarding hard work and encouraging personal responsibility. So the next Conservative Government will stop Labour’s next round of stealth taxes, give taxpayers value for money by spending on what matters to the majority of people and cutting back on the rest.

A Conservative Chancellor of the Exchequer will spend the same as Labour on the NHS, schools, transport and international development and more than Labour on police, defence and pensions

We will save £12 billion a year by 2007-8 by cutting back on other things including: The abolition of 168 quangos; Cutting nearly a quarter of a million bureaucrats; Replacing the out-of-control immigration system with an Australian-style quota and points system, saving £1 billion.

Of £12 billion saved, a Conservative Government will use £8 billion to cut borrowing – avoiding Labour’s next round of stealth tax rises. The remaining £4 billion will be used to reduce taxes.

Pensions

I believe pensioners deserve dignity and security in retirement, in recognition of the contribution they have made to our country.

A Conservative Government will roll back the means-testing of pensioners by increasing the basic state pension in line with earnings rather than prices. After four years, this will increase pensions by £7 a week for single pensioners and £11 a week for couples over and above increases already planned.

We would not require people with private pensions to buy and annuity at 75 years of age.

A Conservative administration will cut the council tax bills of millions of pensioners. The over 65s, living alone or together, will see their council tax bills halved each year – up to a maximum of £500.

A Conservative Government will ensure that no-one has to sell their home to pay for care.

Finally, we will introduce a new Lifetime Savings Account (LiSA) based on the simple principle of “buy one, get one free”. When people put money into a LiSA, the Government will put money in too.

Europe

The experience of 30 years’ membership of what is now called the European Union has convinced a large swathe of the British public that they have been misled.

A Conservative Prime Minister will repatriate those powers, such as over employment laws, fishing and agriculture, which would best be handled by the UK Parliament.

A Conservative Government will also set the date for a referendum on the European constitution as soon as elected, will hold it within six months and will campaign actively for a ‘no’ vote.

I personally hope the electorate will vote a resounding ‘no’ in a referendum on the treaty establishing a constitution for Europe. I shall never vote to join a single European currency or a federal Europe.

Environment

I believe that incentives and local decision-making will help protect the environment better than red tape and taxation.

A Conservative Government will cut carbon emissions with new incentives for low carbon fuels, low pollution cars and energy efficiency in the home and workplace. We will give stronger powers to local communities to create new, additional green belts around towns, cities and villages to stop urban sprawl.

And finally, we will introduce new food labelling so that consumers have full information about food ingredients, where food comes from and the environmental and animal welfare standards used to make and distribute it.

John Scott (Veritas)

JOHN Scott, 52, is a retired Army Logistics Officer.

He was raised and educated in England, Kenya, Singapore and Germany before a career in Her Majesty’s Armed Forces.

He started as a private soldier aged 19 in the Royal Army Ordnance Corps and progressed through the ranks to Major before retiring early.

During his long and successful military career he saw active service with the United Nations Force in Cyprus during the Turkish invasion; in bomb disposal in Northern Ireland; in logistics support in the Falkland Islands and Bosnia; to being responsible for the total supply chain functions for 7th Armoured Brigade (The Desert Rats) in the 1990/91 Iraq War. He is the holder of many medals from Her Majesty, United Nations and Heads of Foreign States. He did not support the recent US/UK invasion of Iraq.

He has lived in Macclesfield since 1987 and has one son. Outside of politics John enjoys football, rugby, golf, tennis and keeping fit.

Veritas is the straight talking party which puts people and country first.

If you are tired of the lies, the deceit, the evasions and the spin of the old parties in Westminster, then join us.

We shall have firm control of immigration, asylum and impose zero tolerance of crime and anti-social behaviour; employ more police and re-open local police stations.

Act on pensions and take all pensioners out of poverty by significantly increasing and index-linking the state retirement pension.

Take low paid workers out of the poverty trap by raising the Income Tax threshold, make personal tax allowances fully transferable, replace the council tax, exempt the family home from Inheritance Tax and create new tax allowances to help people build or extend accommodation for elderly relatives.

We’ll also support care-at-home schemes for the elderly and raise the carers’ allowance; pay decent wages to and train more British health professionals, increase funding for hospital and specialist health care services and provide adequate funding to the hospice movement.

We’ll ensure that we are governed by our own people, in our Parliament in Westminster and will speak openly and fearlessly for the British people – of whatever ethnic background, colour or creed - and for the British way of life.

I have given long, loyal and reliable service to my Queen and country in peace and war and am prepared to do the same for the Macclesfield constituency.